Cynthia F. Buhr

Cynthia F. Buhr is Of Counsel to the firm. Cynthia assists clients with family formation and dissolution, including parentage establishment, property status agreements, child custody and support, complex asset divisions, committed intimate relationships (unmarried couples), adoption, estate planning, and assisted reproduction technology (ART) matters, with a focus on helping multi-parent, non-traditional and blended families navigate the legal system.

Cynthia has spoken frequently before public and professional groups on LGBTQ+ legal issues and other family law matters and teaches family law as an adjunct professor at Seattle University School of Law. As a Board Member of the QLaw Foundation, Cynthia helped establish the QLaw Foundation LGBTQ+ Legal Clinic and Family Matters specialty clinic. Additionally, Cynthia is a graduate of the Washington State Bar Association Leadership Institute and is a past President and founding Board Member of the QLaw Association of Washington. From 2020-2023, Cynthia served as a member of the Washington State Bar Association Family Law Executive Committee (FLEC) and helped organize the 2023 Family Law Midyear Conference.

Cynthia joined Skellenger Bender after having practiced family law for over 14 years in King County as a small firm owner. Prior to working in private practice, Cynthia served as a judicial extern for retired Supreme Court Justice Mary I. Yu and as a law clerk at the ACLU of Washington. Currently, Cynthia regularly volunteers with the QLaw Foundation Legal Clinic. Cynthia is also a trained Collaborative Lawyer and mediator and participates in the King County Volunteer Settlement Conference Program.

Memberships & Affiliations:

Domestic Relations Attorneys of Washington

Family Law Institute, National LGBTQ+ Bar Association

Greater Seattle Business Association

King County Bar Association, Family Law Section

King County Collaborative Law

International Academy of Collaborative Professionals

National LGBTQ+ Bar Association

QLaw Association

Washington State Bar Association, Family Law Section and LGBTQ+ Law Section

Education:

Seattle University, J.D., cum laude, 2005

Arizona State University, B.S., magna cum laude, 2000

Awards:

Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 edition for Family Law and Collaborative Law

Recognized as a Washington Super Lawyers® honoree from 2020 – present

Recognized as a Washington Super Lawyers® Rising Star honoree from 2010 -2017

Elected to Washington State Bar Association Family Law Section Executive Committee 2020-2023

Recognized as QLaw Foundation “Volunteer of the Year” in 2017 and 2021

AVVO Rating of 10/10, an attorney rating website

WSBA Leadership Institute Graduate, 2009

Marketing & Business Editor, Seattle Journal for Social Justice

Seattle University School of Law Public Interest Law Foundation Grant Awardee

STOP MAKING SENSE!—How I learned to stop worrying and love the UGA (or at least work with it), presented at WSBA Family Law Midyear, 2022

The Demise of RCW 26.10 and the Rise of RCW 11.130: From Third Party Custody to Guardianships, presented at WSBA Family Law Midyear, 2021

Second and Third Parent Adoptions, presented at QLaw Foundation Family Matters Clinic Training for Attorneys and Social Workers, 2019

Finalizing a Second Parent Adoption Case, Legal Clinic Procedures and Other Forms of Securing Parentage, presented at QLaw Foundation Securing Parentage CLE: Second Parent Adoptions and More for the LGBTQ+ Community, 2018

Legal Issues Facing the LGBTQ Community, presented at PFLAG Bellevue Meeting, ACLU Speaker’s Bureau, 2017

Family Law and Assisted Reproduction, presented at QLaw Foundation CLE, 2017

Chapter 5 – Family Law, editor, Judges’ Bench Guide on the LGBTQ Community and the Law, 2017

Legal Ramifications of Conception, Conception Options for LGBTQ Families (with Maia Midwifery, Seattle Sperm Bank and Pacific Northwest Fertility), 2016 and 2017 Panelist

Practitioner’s Panel, Seattle University School of Law (Solo & Small Firm class), 2016 Panelist

LGBTQ Rights Post-Election: Protecting Our Community, Seattle City Town Hall co-sponsored by QLaw, Legal Voice and many other organizations, 2016

Auto-Conversion of Domestic Partnerships to Marriage, City Hall Panel co-sponsored by QLaw, Legal Voice and many other organizations, 2014

The Consequences of Windsor: Tax and Estate Planning Strategies, Century Square, 2013

Parenting Plans, University of Washington School of Law (Family Law class), 2013 Guest Lecturer

Practitioner’s Panel, Seattle University School of Law (Law Practice Planning and Management class), 2013 Panelist

“Hanging Your Own Shingle”, workshop presenter at Lavender Law hosted by the National LGBT Bar Association in Washington D.C., 2013

Family Law: An Overview, presented at QLaw CLE & GLBT Legal Clinic Attorney Training, 2012

Washington State Domestic Partnership Law and Other Legal Considerations of Gay & Lesbian Servicemembers, presented at CLE Admission to Practice Rule 8(g) Training Program, 2012

Domestic Partnership Law, presented at University of Washington (Tacoma), 2011

Partners Through Time: Using the Law to Support LGBT Relationships, presented at QLaw CLE, 2011

Tax Developments for Washington Same-Sex Couples, presented at Pride Foundation public event at Seattle Town Hall, 2011

Recent Changes in Washington Domestic Partnership Law, presented at KCBA Brown Bag CLE, 2011

Family Law Practice, Highline Community College, 2011 Guest Lecturer

How to Hang a Shingle – A Solo Practice Management Training for Law Students and New Lawyers, Seattle University School of Law, 2011 Panelist

Law & Liberty: Marriage Equality, presented at ACLU of Washington CLE Series, 2011

Succession Planning, article in WYLD De Novo, 2011

The Multiple Impacts of the New Domestic Partnership Act, presented at Whatcom County Bar Association CLE, 2010

Washington Domestic Partnerships, University of Washington (Social Work Continuing Education class), 2010 Guest Lecturer

Parenting Plans, University of Washington School of Law (Family Law class), 2010 Guest Lecturer

Washington Domestic Partnerships, presented at Senior Services (now known as SOUND Generations), 2010

Family Law, presented at QLaw Foundation Legal Clinic CLE, 2010

Lawyer’s Toolbox: Family Law Basics, WAMBAC 5th Annual Statewide Diversity Conference, 2010

Estate Planning for Domestic Partners, BECU Trust Company Public Presentation, 2010

Domestic Partnerships, The State of LGBT Rights in Washington, 2009

Family Law Implications of Domestic Partnerships, The Past Present & Future of Domestic Partnerships in Washington State, 2009

Orientation + Family, presented at Social Sustainability Conference, Out for Sustainability, 2009

Family Formation and the Washington Law on Domestic Partnerships, Recent Changes to Washington Law Regarding Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, 2009

Legal Clinic Ethics, LGBT Law from A to Z CLE: Issue Spotting for Pro Se Legal Clinic Clients, presented at QLaw Foundation CLE, 2009

Domestic Partnerships, presented at GAAP Recruitment CLE, Family Law Topics, 2009

Parenting Issues for Same-Sex Couples, public memo for Northwest Women’s Law Center (now known as Legal Voice), 2009

LGBTQ Youth in Foster Care, Washington State Juvenile Non-Offender Bench Guide, 2009

Marriage and Families, Your Guide to Turning 18, 2009

Domestic Partnerships, presented at Civil Liberties 101: Domestic Partnerships, ACLU of Washington CLE, 2008

GSA Student Rights, presented at Somewhere Over the Rainbow Festival at Mount Vernon High School, ACLU Speaker’s Bureau, 2008